This has been the culmination of a project months in the making! (Though it's also a project that should've been finished a months ago. )

As is mentioned in the title this is part 1 of a 2 part story.

-I hesitate to mention this but, for those offering critique I must make a clarification; This has been a project months in the making. I'm not asking you to hold back or pull punches, rather just be aware that my art has improved since I originally sketched this thing out. Please take a look at one or two of my other recent pictures before you tailor your advice based on this picture alone.

Okay so im gonna start of with the impact this picture has then i will go onto the drawings themselves

First i wanna say Aj and Ab are perfectly in character for example, Applebloom acts like a typical kid would; Thinking what she is upset about is stupid ect and applejack is being the typical loving sister trying to stay strong but eventually her own feelings take over which is what i feel would actually happen if this where a real situation

Okay now the topic of the comic is a mature one that me and allot of people wish would actually happen- Mainly because it would make for a very mature lesson, also it would be better than her parents suddenly appearing in S3, so this is why fan-art is always a nice thing to see, Plus your comic is handling the situation in a great way almost like the show would.

okay on to the drawing, first of i wanna say your drawing skills are amazing! some of the poses you have accomplished are really hard ones and you have done them perfectly, Also your shading is very accurate

Excellent work. While many bronies have discussed and done various pieces of artwork about the Apple family's lack of parents, this comic strip here did it extremely well, citing a very good episode for the topic (Family Appreciation Day,) and giving a legitimate reason as to why Applebloom might be upset. Having Applejack coming in to comfort her younger sister almost always works, and the dialogue felt very natural, flowing, and realistic, it seems like something a real child in that particular position might say. The art work was fairly simple, but in this case it worked. The background art being too complex might have actually subtracted from the impact of the dialogue and situation. The only real criticism I have with the art is that in the last panel, Applejack's legs kind of look like really long feet. Also, there's no real resolution, but you said this is 1/2, so I'm not going to criticize you on that because you obviously aren't finished. I also love Applejack's character enough, she appears more heartwarming than usual but isn't out of character from herself on the show. All and all, an amzing piece of work, and you sir/madam (sorry, it's a little hard to tell on the internet,) deserve an award.

I saw the video on YouTube. I commented on Part 4 about how sad it was for Applejack to loose her parents. I know how it feels to lose a family member. Both my grandpas were dead before I was born and I was lie, IDK, maybe 4 when my grandmas died. I only remember my mother's side grandmother. But not very well though.

I also lost an Aunt in 2012. Everyone in my family was sad, but I think her close family members like my mother, who was sisters with her were sad the most.